09TBILISI1382, GEORGIA: HEAD OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING RESIGNS

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C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 001382
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019
TAGS: PRELPGOVPHUMGG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: HEAD OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING RESIGNS
Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
¶1. (C) Summary: Levan Kubaneishvili's July 20 resignation
from his position as Georgia's public broadcasting (GPB)
general director appears to be a tacit recognition of the
continuing political battles that have swirled around the
station for months. He has not publicly explained his
resignation, but the move has sparked speculation by many
that Kubaneishvili's departure was as an attempt by the GOG
to appease the opposition who have been very critical of him
and have demanded his replacement. An application period is
now open to all candidates to fill the vacancy. The public
broadcasting board will make the final decision on the new
director general on August 10. The board of trustees itself
has been hampered by the resignations of four of its nine
members in response to what they described as GPB's biased
coverage of the non-parliamentary opposition-led protests
this past spring. As part of his proposal for further
democratic reforms, President Saakashvili suggested that the
makeup of the board of trustees be equal parts opposition
candidates and GoG candidates, with the last seat being a
member of civil society. End Summary.
¶2. (C) Comment: Kubaneishvili, who expressed his
frustration at being a political target in a previous meeting
with the Ambassador a few months ago, may have simply grown
tired of dealing with the politics surrounding the position.
The position has become a lightning rod for opposition
criticism making it likely the next general director will
also face tremendous political pressure from all sides.
Saakashvili's proposal appears to recognize the need to
de-politicize the GPB which may be a tall order in the
current political environment. End Comment.
WHY QUIT NOW?
¶3. (C) Levan Kubaneishvili resigned after only serving 15
months of his six-year term. This resignation comes on the
heels of previous resignations by four members of the public
broadcasting board of trustees, who resigned because of what
they said was insufficient quality coverage of opposition
protests by GPB. Deputy General Director Gia Chanturia will
be the new acting Director General until a replacement is
appointed. Kubaneishvili has remained silent on his reasons
for resigning, leading to speculation that his resignation
was at least in part GOG influenced. Kubaneishvili is
reputed to be very close to the Saakashvili administration
and is highly unpopular with the non-parliamentary opposition
leaders who have consistently demanded his removal. The move
to replace him could be perceived as a goodwill gesture by
GOG to placate their concerns about GPB's coverage, although
critics seem to be reserving judgment about whether this was
a significant move until a replacement is named.
WHO WANTS THIS JOB?
¶4. (C) Public Broadcasting's board of trustees initiated an
open application period to fill the vacancy. Anyone may
submit an application for the position until August 3 and the
current board members will elect the new director on August
¶10. Despite the fact there are only five members currently
on the board, the members represent a quorum able to make a
final determination on appointing a new general director.
The composition of the original nine-member board was the
result of an informal understanding between the GOG and the
opposition reached in February 2008. The current makeup of
the board may cause independent journalists to pass up the
opportunity to apply for the position since the remaining
members are viewed as openly pro-government. Never one to
Qmembers are viewed as openly pro-government. Never one to
shy aware from political confrontation, Erosi Kitsmarishvili
- former Georgian Ambassador to Moscow - announced his
intention to run for the position. Kitsmarishvili, a former
Saakashvili ally and former owner of Rustavi 2 television
channel is the only announced candidate at this time.
¶5. (C) In his July 20 speech to Parliament, Saakashvili
offered a proposal to grant four seats on the board to the
opposition keeping four seats for GOG nominees. Saakashvili
proposed that the last seat be reserved for a member of civil
society with the goal of de-politicizing public broadcasting.
Parliament tabled a pending draft amendment to increase the
number of trustees from nine to fifteen which was aimed at
proving a more "inclusive" board, and the expanded board idea
could be acted upon at any time.
TEFFT

The information recorded on this site has been extracted from http://Wikileaks.org (Georgia) database..

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